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I found a stash of stories from last year’s Calendar submission, and plan to use a few of them (with permission, of course) as mood-lifters. Here’s commentor Ray L.:

Attached is Goose, a six year old rescue tortoise shell. We rescued her from the vets. She had been in a family of many cats and was the one picked on. She was sent to the vets after being doused with kerosene (we were told accidentally). She had very little hair when we got her. We’d had a previous Tortie and loved her, so my wife and daughter “convinced” me to keep Goose.

She’s a doll, although she’s an outdoor cat (hour or two most days) is a hunter, who seems to love to bring home game and let them loose in the house for us to chase out the door. Mostly chipmunks and squirrels.

I’ve included a second photo of Goose looking at some turkeys, just because I like the shot. I enjoy trying to imagine what was going on in her mind then.

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If you want your pet’s picture to appear in the 2013 Calendar, send it to Beth Salman at bjcalendar2013@yahoo.com . Deadline is the end of October, so that Beth can do the hard work to have the finished calendar available for all your holiday shopping needs at the beginning of December.

@Maude: Cat is smart. She’d better be careful of those turkeys as the males have one inch spikes on the back of their legs that can rip open flesh very easily. Their beaks and claws that are also very strong and can do real damage.

I submitted a pic of my turtle Porky for the calenday way back when and I think it made the cut. Porky has been put out to stud after 20 years as my rescue pet. He’s been relocated to the reptile compound of a box turtle enthusiast and breeder and is doing wonderfully with his new turtle friends. I miss him but I’m glad he has company now.

I can’t sleep and it’s 5:00 am. I’ve got a very long day ahead of me. I’m not used to quiet.
The plant we’re working in has a deafeningly loud PA system and plays a distorted Tarzan yell every 10 to 15 seconds around the clock. It sounds like a terrified elephant. I have no idea why and you can imagine how distracting that gets after 10 or 15 hours straight. It sounds exactly like that clip, over and over. For the full environmental effect, add the din of a half a block of 20,000 ton presses, forklifts dragging skids of sheet metal and scores of welding robots. Then immerse your head in that for half a day.

Bringing in live prey, oh yes. I used to tell people they couldn’t imagine what they missed working in offices as opposed to working at home. Like coming downstairs for lunch and finding Eric the beta male cat lying in the kitchen in a pile of feathers and a few scraps with the look of the just on his face…the just plain satisfied. Or the live baby rabbit that CeeCee the female tabby brought all the way upstairs to my office: “Look what I got for you, boss!”

Wow. He looks just like the tortoise shell Mrs. JP brought over with her from Florida. Her name was Sweetie, an aptly-named cat with whom I had the pleasure of knowing for just 9 weeks before she died of cancer. I was thinking about her just last night. She passed away almost three years ago and I still miss her. I’ve been debating whether or not to send pictures of our other cat, a Russian Blue named Popeye, for the BJ calendar. He doesn’t exactly lend himself to the endearing.

@danielx:
Ever since R fed Marshmallow chicken straight off the grill, all carcasses of mice, birds and chipmunks have been left in front of it. Obviously she thinks she’s helping.
Kind of like SirEatsALot thinks he’s helping by climbing into the sink and licking all the crumbs off the dishes. Sigh.

Well, it is kind of nice to know that you’re considered worthy and that they are doing their part to support the pride/pack/herd. I don’t have a problem with that, it’s when they bring in live birds and let them go inside the house that it’s annoying. Fortunately Eric the senior cat is elderly enough that he considers bringing critters in to be beneath his dignity at this point.

Well, we are where we are. That’s reality. On the other hand, these are probably likely voter polls, not registered voter polls. Newly registered folks aren’t included. Election day might reflect numbers somewhere between the LV polls and the RV polls.

I think we should make a real effort to get these people to the polls, furnish transportation, etc. If we can get the newbies into early voting, that might be easier for them. And the same goes for the willing but not entirely enthusiastic.

Team Obama has always said that it would be a tight, hard fought race. And it looks like they’re right. Again.

@RossinDetroit, Rational Subjectivist: You better be wearing ear protection. I know a guy who lost a good part of his hearing working at a corn silo because of the noise. He said they offered hearing protection but he didn’t like wearing it.

@PsiFighter37: Its 60 plus in Phx. Also too, I hope you’re over your “THE WHOLE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END!!!!OBAMA IS GOING TO LOOOZZZ!!!” I cannot deal with seeing that on every thread today.

That gangnam style video has been seen on youtube about 450 million times. Wow!!! I know you have to figure people watching it multiple times but still its got to mean at least fifty million people have seen that video. Pretty amazing when you think about it.

@Lojasmo: I’m so sorry. I had a flame point Siamese named Billy Bob that I lost a year ago. It was really hard cuz he was quite the cat but you love them and then you watch them decline and they let you know it’s ok and it’s time. And that’s part of loving them too.

Edward is adjusting to the new home just fine. She’s mellowing out a lot. She can get pretty aggressive about her displays of affection (she likes to jump up on my back/shouders and nap there), but she’s calmed down a lot in the last week. The two cats are still in separate rooms but they’ve seen each other a couple of times and this morning I moved their food bowls to opposite sides of the door. Halley got uptight about that but she’s now willing to go eat at the new location. Luckily there’s a step down into the back room so I can put Edward’s food right at the base of the door and still be able to open the door no problem. I think introductions into each other’s territory will start next weekend.

Addendum to the noise description above. Yes, I’m in Mexico, but US plants can be much the same. Except the Tarzan thing. That seems to be unique. This plant strictly enforces the use of comprehensive safety gear including effective ear protection.
If you’ve never been in a big factory processing sheet metal, they’re both horrible and wonderful at the same time. Automation is amazing, but it produces an environment a lot like a vision of Hell.

I am such a softie, I was on my way home last night and a homeless guy hit me up or some money, didn’t have any but had some cigarettes he could have. I then noticed he had a cat with him curled up inside his jacket. A soaking wet and very unhappy cat (the rainy season has started here in Western Oregon). Don’t know how to deal with stuff like this. There is a relatively new cat shelter on the west side of town but I can’t remember its name. Damn. Any PDXers are welcome to tell me

@WaterGirl: watergirl, i’m very sorry you didn’t get a calendar with your kitties and regret the confusion. i did add them and uploaded the new pages but you must have ordered your calendar before i was able to do that. i have a copy with your kitties and i am more than happy to trade you that one for the one you got. send me an email if you want to do that.

i am replying to everyone who has sent in a photo(s). if you have sent me something and don’t hear from me in five days, send it again or ask me why i am dawdling. i got a LOT of photos last year and i expect to get a lot this year; i am only one person doing the best she can. this is not an excuse: it’s a warning.

i am planning to use one image of each of your pets in the calendar. you will all get in by virtue of taking the time to submit a photo.

also, cafe press gives you a preview of the calendar before you buy it. please take a look through and if you don’t see your pet, don’t order it. send me an email letting me know who i forgot and i’ll let you know when i’ve uploaded the revised page. that way you can be sure you get a calendar with your pet in it. i’ll remind you all of this when we get the calendar finished and uploaded.

We have a 17 year old tortoiseshell kitty who’s still hanging in there — doesn’t hear very well, doesn’t walk very well, tends to get respiratory gunk and battles hyperthyroid and came down with a UTI a couple days ago. But she’s tough. Used to talk up a storm, now does more of a silent meow. She started on laser therapy for her bad back this week and it seems to do some good…

Tashi was the toughest cat I’ve ever had. When she was diagnosed with cancer and they told us it was untreatable, we kept watching her for signs that she was ready to give up, but she never wavered even though she was obviously weak. One night, I was petting her in the living room and she heard Boris eating in the office. She heaved herself up so she could go into the office, shove him aside, and eat. The next day, G came home at lunch and found her dead.